Tobacco in Movies and Impact on Youth

This 16-slide presentation, delivered at the July 2006 World Conference on Tobacco or Health (Washington, DC, USA), explores some research on tobacco in movies that was undertaken by the India-based Burning Brain Society (BBS). BBS Chairperson Hemant Goswami traces trends in the degree to which, and the way in which, tobacco use is depicted in the film medium in India. His insights are offered in the context of a 2004 advertising ban imposed by the Indian Government.

Goswami shares the results of a qualitative analysis of 110 movies released in 2004 and 2005 in India. Volunteers watched the movies to identify the instances of tobacco brand visibility; to analyse the association of tobacco with glamour, style, and emotions; and to record specific instances where statements facilitating tobacco consumption and situations where tobacco warnings were mocked. Responses from 1126 young people were collected through a survey questionnaire and evaluated.

BBS found that, since tobacco companies are now prohibited from any open advertisements, they were resorting to covert forms which included product placement in Indian
movies: 89% of the movies analysed depicted tobacco. This is 13% more than what was found through a similar BBS survey in 2003, prior to the tobacco advertising ban. Myths about tobacco use are also deliberately being promoted through movies, BBS contends.

Specific figures relating to the impact of tobacco in movies on youth are shared here. For example, 33.7% of all respondents were able to recall movies with a specific tobacco brand. This increased to 67% among those having some degree of tobacco influence. Among the tobacco user respondents, 45% admitted lighting a cigarette in the style of a film star and 63% admitted holding a cigarette in film-star style. 96.6% of respondents said that removing tobacco from movies would not affect their decision to watch movies. BBS believes that tobacco projection and depiction, even in a generic form (without showing brands) still has the same potential of increasing the overall sale of tobacco products and remains a win-win situation for the industry as a whole.

Click here for the full presentation in PDF format.

Click here to download the complete study in PDF format.

Click here for a related January 20 2006 press release, "WHO Study: Tobacco Brands in Indian Movies Nearly Triple after 2004 Advertising Ban."

Click here for a related January 2006 newsletter from Burning Brain Society on the "The Facts Vs. The Misinformation".